Post-grad women face a salary gap.
Women have made incredible social strides over the last few centuries. We have fought for the right to vote, battled for opportunities in collegiate education, penetrated the work force, and even held seats in some of the most powerful political positions. Throughout history women have had to overcome obstacles and hurdles in every facet of society to leave 21st century women with the “equal” opportunities they have today. But has society truly reached equality? According to a recent report released by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the answer is: No.
The report was the end result of an investigation on the existence of a salary gap between men and women. Generally, men are characterized as earning more than women because they tend to put in more hours of overtime, choose careers in higher paying fields such as science and technology and do not experience a slow down period in their careers once they have children. However, to account for the differences, the AAUW specifically chose to look at a time when men and women exhibit the most similar lifestyles, credentials, work experience and familial obligations. Interestingly enough, this time is one-year post college graduation.
The AAUW found through surveys that women graduates in the class of 2008 earned on average $35,296, while their male classmates were paid $42,918, showing an 18% disparity between the genders. Readers may suggest, that this difference is reflected in the fact that men tend to choose higher paying jobs. Interestingly enough, men and women with the same majors showed on average a $7,000 gap in pay and in science, engineering and technology, women only earned 77%-88% of the salaries of men. In addition, even after normalizing for the potential differences between post graduate men and women, there still existed a 6.6% gap in salary that remained unexplainable.
Readers may believe that a 6.6% difference may be marginal enough to let slide the apparent inequality. However, lower salary from the entry-level job creates additional barriers that compound throughout a woman’s career. One of the major areas the report touches on is a student loan. If women earn lower starting salaries, they will remain in debt for longer periods of time and when the average accumulation of student loan is $20,000 post graduation, the debt has the potential to be a burden for a number of years.
The numbers can be eye opening and disappointing, especially to collegiate women preparing to enter the workforce in May 2013. Women can try to avoid the impact of the gap by doing their homework about the salaries of a particular job and trying to negotiate a fair pay. In addition, a woman’s workplace experience will vary from company to company, so it may be helpful to do some research on culture. Magazines and organizations such as Working Mother, report the best companies for women to work for. Certain companies also have smaller employee organizations within that focus on support for women in the workplace, which can also help promote a healthy work-life balance. Women can also start defending against the salary gap early on when deciding on a major or career path. The report suggests that women can look to academic degrees with applications in higher paying fields to live a more comfortable lifestyle.
Unfortunately, the gap in salary has been long ingrained in the workplace, and will take more than girl power to implement a change. Although women have fought for rights throughout history, transforming the workplace environment is the only way to change inequality. Until then, do your research, know what your skills are worth, make educated decisions and find a job that you love, because work is never a job if you love what you do.
Sources:
http://www.aauw.org/GraduatetoaPayGap/index.cfm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/one-year-out-of-college-wo…
http://www.workingmother.com/best-companies/2012-working-mother-100-best…